


Falling in Love Should Not Look Like Fainting

by Raaj



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (in a sense), F/M, Fainting, Sickfic, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22882948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raaj/pseuds/Raaj
Summary: Ann just wants a nice date with her boyfriend after two months apart.  Ren wants a nice date with his girlfriend, too.  His body, a bit weaker from two months in solitary, may have other ideas.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 5
Kudos: 143





	Falling in Love Should Not Look Like Fainting

**Author's Note:**

> There may be some medical inaccuracies here: I did look up information about fainting, but I am by no means a doctor. What Ren does isn't what's commonly recommended for fainting and is pretty much only okay in the fic because he's already been in touch with Takemi. (Fainting is not always serious, but some of the potential causes are, so if you faint and don't know why you did, it's probably time to see a doctor just to make sure everything's okay.)

Odaiba Seaside Park. That was where Ann and Ren had been for what Ann would consider their first date, and that was where she'd had her heart set on going back once Ren was out of prison. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked her boyfriend. "We could stay here if you want, but... what do you think?"

They'd started their Valentine's Day date at Leblanc, and she'd understand if he wanted to stay there. He had just been released yesterday, and while he hadn't said too much about what it was like in solitary confinement, his thinner, pale appearance made it clear the ordeal had taken a toll. If he wanted a quiet evening in a familiar place, that was fine by her, and there was no better place for that than the cafe. On the other hand...she couldn't help but think if she'd been alone for so long, she'd want to see people, do things, and Ren had already been cooped up in the cafe for about a month before that. For all she knew he was sick of spending evenings in the restaurant. She figured she should offer the choice. He brightened and said "Let's go" so eagerly that she couldn't help beaming herself.

"To Odaiba!" she cheered. After they'd both bundled up in coats, gloves and scarves for the weather outside, she took hold of Ren's hand and they walked down to the station. Yongen-Jaya Station was one of the quieter ones in Tokyo, being in a smaller neighborhood, but the train they boarded was busy, full of people. Lots of couples. Ann smiled, but it faded slightly when she turned to her boyfriend. Ren still had a small smile, but his eyes looked distant. She squeezed his hand. "Everything okay?"

Ren blinked, his gray eyes refocusing behind the glasses as he glanced to her. He squeezed her hand back and smiled a little more. "Yeah. It's been a while since I've taken the train."

Oh, yeah. Boss had used his car to pick Ren up when he was released. Having all these people around...it was an everyday thing in Tokyo, but maybe it felt different to him now? And Valentine's Day was a little busier than other days, with so many people going on dates. "Hey. If you want to go back to Leblanc, just tell me, okay? We can go to Odaiba another time."

He gave a small laugh. "But we're already on the train. And this isn't bad. More like...it's new again."

She studied his face for a second, then giggled. "That's right, you're a country boy."

"Hey. We can't all be globetrotting cosmopolitans."

Ann snorted. "The last time I traveled was--! Well, it was the school trip. But before that I hadn't gone anywhere since middle school!"

"You've still gone more places than I have."

"...Maybe, but the places I liked best are the ones I saw with you."

She was a little too sheepish to look him in the eye right after saying something so corny, but she had to once she caught his flustered, warm grin. She'd missed these little moments, his unguarded expressions. She was relieved he could still share them with her.

Ren shivered as they left the station at Odaiba, and Ann nestled closer to him, hugging his arm to her to warm him up. ...Even through the layers of their coats, it felt different, missing a good bit of the muscle he'd built up over the last year. It'd been obvious the moment he stepped back into Leblanc that he'd lost weight, but she had to wonder just how much he'd lost. And in only two months...what if that journalist, Ohya, hadn't been able to find the witness when she did? He might have come out even worse off...if it'd been too long, he might not have...

"Ann?"

Lost in dark thoughts, she hadn't realized she was holding his arm too tightly. "Ah, sorry!" She loosened her hold, but didn't let go completely. "You're not hungry, are you?" She'd heard about a few good restaurants in the area. The best way to make sure Ren got back to a healthier weight would be making sure he ate good food.

"Maybe later. Unless you're hungry now--"

"I'm good for now. Oh, look!" She used her finger to push his cheek, aiming his sight toward the ferris wheel that was just visible from the station's vicinity. "They have it lit for Valentine's Day! Let's ride it before we go home!" She bounced a little on her feet.

"Was there something you wanted to do first, then?" Ren asked.

"Well..." She wanted to save the ferris wheel ride as a nostalgic way to end the night, but Ann had never been a meticulous planner, so she didn't exactly have an itinerary in mind. She rambled aloud as she thought through the possibilities. "There's that Valentine's workshop in Craft Town, and walking through the park, and oh! Joypolis is having a special for couples today, I think, so..."

"Ah... I don't know if I brought enough for Joypolis."

"It's Valentine's Day! I'm treating you."

"You already did with the chocolates, though?" Ren looked honestly surprised, as though he hadn't expected anyone, even his girlfriend, to want to spoil him silly after what he'd been through. He was in for a few surprises, then... especially with Haru. Makoto had been sighing only a few days ago that she'd had to tell the heiress to "tone it down". Ann hadn't heard what the original plan was, but considering the "toned down" plan was to book not an hour, but an entire evening for their group at the Wilton Buffet next weekend, she had to wonder.

"It's Valentine's Day," she repeated. "I'm treating my boyfriend, who deserves to be spoiled."

"Heh, alright. So where to first?"

"You pick! Did any of those stand out to you?"

"...What are they making at the workshop?"

Ann grinned. Figured he'd like that one; he was always good with his fingers, whether he was picking open treasure chests, spinning his phone like a show-off, or, well, other things. "I think they were going to have a few different projects!"

It was a little too late in the day for them to start making candles or chocolates, but they had fun with some of the simpler crafts. Ann put together a pair of "rose-colored glasses" for Ren as a joke, with pretty cardstock cut to make heart-shaped frames and red cellophane for the lenses. Ren doffed his usual glasses to wear them with a smirk as he twined together paper flowers. While the intended project for the flowers was a heart-shaped garland, he was using string to connect them more loosely--and with him gravitating towards bright pinks and yellows instead of using any of the deep reds, she had to wonder--

"Is that supposed to be a lei?" she asked.

He threw it loosely over her head as answer, arranging the still unconnected tips over her shoulders so that it stayed in place. "Aloha." He stuck out his thumb and pinky on one hand, looking incredibly goofy when he was still wearing the heart-shaped craft glasses.

"Is that the only thing you picked up from Hawaii...?" Well, it wasn't like they'd been there long enough for anyone to really improve their English. And the lei was pretty. Ann held her hair out of the way so that Ren could tie the ends together behind her neck. The fake flowers rustled noisily, but she'd wear it tonight and then hang it up in her room as a memento.

"How about you decide where we go now?" Ren asked as they were leaving Craft Town.

He was supposed to be picking! But that was like him, almost always willing to go with what others wanted. At least she'd gotten him to choose a place first. "Hm...how about Joypolis? A few rides sounds fun!"

Disappointingly, the couple's special she'd seen advertised for the indoor amusement park turned out to be only for the day passes. She still deliberated buying a pair for a minute, but it was already evening and there were other things for them to do tonight. It just seemed to make more sense to pay per ride.

That decision turned out for the better, anyway. Ren utterly decimated her at the shooter game, and he had fun on a few other rides and games, but he took off the craft glasses without putting his normal glasses back on after they tried the virtual reality ride. Ann didn't think anything of it until midway through the indoor rollercoaster ride, when she was yelling in delight and looked over to see his eyes pinched shut. Did he have a headache...? Ann knew Futaba took her glasses off when she had headaches, and while the younger girl said it was partially "not wanting to see anything anymore"--which wouldn't apply to Ren--she'd mentioned that sometimes if her head was already hurting, she couldn't take that little bit of extra weight on her nose. Ann kept her volume down for the rest of the ride, but it wasn't like she was the only source of loud noise in an amusement park full of kids and teenagers.

He was squinting a bit even after they got off the ride. That definitely looked like a headache. "Hey, do you want to head out?" she asked.

"Hm?" His expression smoothed out as he looked at her. "There's still other rides...don't you want to keep going?"

Ann frowned, a little frustrated. Why did he have to act like everything was fine even when it wasn't? He'd done that the last time they had a date, too. ...On Christmas Eve. "You look like you have a headache or something. If it's too noisy, let's go somewhere quieter."

His eyes flicked down to the floor. It was odd looking at him without his glasses; his face looked bare. Kind of vulnerable, though maybe that had more to do with his pale complexion. "It's not that bad, but maybe the park would be better."

...She was skeptical about it being "not that bad" if it was breaking his poker face, but at least they could agree that Joypolis probably wasn't the best place for him right now. "Yeah! With all the fresh snow, I bet the park is gorgeous." And then they'd be closer to the ferris wheel--or maybe a restaurant...? They could decide that when they got hungry. She beamed and led the way out with their hands interlocked.

It was quiet in the park. While winters in Tokyo were mild compared to some other climates Ann had been to, it was no Hawaii, and the chill was just enough to be pushing most people to stay in the buildings around the park instead. Ann decided to keep Ren warm by hugging his arm again. Well, and maybe it was helping her stay warm too. She pointed out Valentine's decorations for Ren to notice, but after a half hour and a small circuit through the park, that subject had been thoroughly exhausted. He wasn't saying as much, now. He was slowing down a little in his stride, too. Was the headache still bothering him that much? Maybe it was time to wrap things up and call it a night. They could always eat back at Leblanc. 

"Hey, we're close to the ferris wheel. Let's ride it now!"

"Sure..." 

Ann took a quick step forward, but Ren stayed still, stopping her in her tracks. Confused, she looked back at him to see his face drained of color and showing a rather dazed expression, like he'd only just woken up, or--

He took a shaky breath, and his knees buckled. Ann's eyes bulged as she lunged to grab for his shoulder and keep him from falling. They nearly both went down on the snow-dusted path, but she managed to keep her feet underneath her and brace his body against hers. He was lighter than she remembered from fights in the Metaverse and more intimate moments. But he wasn't trying to stand back up, and when she called his name, he didn't answer. She needed to lie him down--that helped with people who'd fainted, right? She hoped that was all that was wrong. Spotting the nearest bench, she clutched Ren tight to her and walked them both over to sit down, and let him slump over her lap. She hoped it felt more comfortable for him than it did for her, but her discomfort wasn't important right now. Ann dived in her purse for her phone.

Luckily, Ren was only out for a few seconds more; she was scrolling through the contacts list when she felt him shift with a confused noise escaping his lips. His gray eyes focused on her and then the phone, silently questioning. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm calling Dr. Takemi for advice."

"No," he said immediately, which didn't make sense to Ann when what she'd said was perfectly reasonable, so she kept looking. She found Takemi's name and tapped on it. "No, Ann, don't--"

"You just fainted, why would I not call your doctor--"

"Fainting isn't...it's not serious by itself. Takemi told me that this morning. Boss made me get a check-up. I think they were going to lace my coffee if I didn't agree." Ren was rambling a little bit, unusual for him. He was probably still marshaling his thoughts. "All she'd do is ask how I'm feeling... if I noticed anything wrong before. Then she'd call me an idiot because I did, but I thought..."

...He'd thought he could just power through it, probably. "Can I do that for her?" Ann asked. "She warned you you might faint? If you're sick, you should be resting!"

"I'm not, not like..." He shook his head. "Anemia. Some malnutrition. Yusuke's anemic, it's not that serious."

"Okay, one, Yusuke has actually gotten a little better about eating more regularly--" Never mind the fact that it had taken, like, several steps, and one of the breaking points had been him running himself ragged when they were trying to organize public support for Ren's release.

"Oh. Good."

"--two, if you start using him as any sort of health guideline, I will help Boss drug your coffee."

"Hn." That got a frown, and Ren started to sit up. "Sorry to worry you. But really, don't...don't bother Takemi. I know what's wrong."

Ann eyed him for a minute, but slowly put the phone down in her lap. If he'd gotten a lecture from Takemi about the subject already, then he'd know better than her how serious it was. She could probably trust that it at least wasn't an emergency. "Did she tell you what to do if it happened?"

"Sitting helps."

"Okay. Is there anything I can get you? Do you need water? Something to eat?"

"...Fruit juice."

Ren didn't usually ask for sweet things, but it made sense as something that might help him perk up. She didn't know when he'd last eaten. Maybe she should have insisted on sitting down to eat sooner...? Too late now. "Okay. There was that corner store. I'll get you some fruit juice from there. Stay here, and call me if--" She paused. "Actually, I'm just going to start a call with you now. We don't have to talk the whole time, I just want to know you're okay."

Ren looked resigned as he answered the call she started, but Ann tried to push that aside as she briskly walked out of the park. She didn't think she was overreacting... He was already feeling poorly, so how would he know if he was about to faint again in time to call her? This way she'd be able to tell if he suddenly dropped his phone.

Though, she had been a little sharp with him, and when he had just fainted... that thought made her feel guilty. "Hey," she said into her phone. "I'm sorry if I snapped at you."

_"So you won't drug my coffee?"_

"...I can't make any promises there." Though his light-hearted response reassured her.

 _"Ouch."_ There was a brief pause. _"Please don't tell Morgana about this. He's already in full nanny mode."_

When Morgana had made a habit of enforcing Ren's bedtime when he was healthy, Ann could only imagine that Ren's near-constant shadow might be a little overbearing right now. "I'll promise not to tell Morgana if you promise you'll tell Dr. Takemi what happened. Maybe not tonight, but soon. She is your doctor."

_"Deal."_

"Okay. I didn't want to end up on Morgana's bad side for making you faint anyway."

 _"As though 'Lady Ann' could--"_ Ren cut off abruptly, and Ann stopped dead on the path, wondering if she needed to sprint back and if she should call emergency services this time. _"You didn't make me faint."_

...False alarm. He still sounded okay, he just had no idea what she was talking about. She sighed. "If we'd stayed at Leblanc, you wouldn't have been walking around so much, or had to listen to all that noise in Joypolis, or--" She wasn't exactly sure what had caused him to faint, but it seemed obvious enough that Leblanc would have been more restful. Also, food and drink would have been mere steps away if that was the problem. "You haven't been having fun since Craft Town, have you? You shouldn't push yourself for me."

_"That's what you think I was doing?"_

"You did the same thing on Christmas Eve. You knew you'd have to turn yourself in and you pretended everything was fine just so I'd have a nice evening and not get upset." Except she'd been able to tell that he was hiding something, so she had gotten upset anyway and taken it out on him by leaving. She should have stayed. She should have realized sooner he wasn't feeling up to going all around Odaiba. "It's...sweet? But it's too much. And...I don't know. I'm sorry." Sorry he felt the need to do that. Sorry she couldn't see the truth when he did.

He was quiet as she entered the convenience store. She listened carefully to the rhythm of his soft breathing as she passed the aisles to get to the canned drinks. There were sounds of shifting movement, like he was lying down.

_"Ann..."_

"Yeah? Say, does lemon sound good?"

He usually liked a bit of tartness, but the question seemed to throw him off. _"What? Oh, sure. Thanks."_

She picked up a can of that flavor, then one peach-flavored drink for herself. Then, on an impulse, she grabbed an egg rice ball from another shelf, just in case he did get hungry. "I'm checking out now, so I'll be back soon."

_"...Okay."_

After paying, she speed-walked back to the bench. Ren was falling quiet again, so she made sure to ask if he was still okay, to which she got a prompt reassurance. And when she saw him again, he was starting to look better. He was lying down when she first caught sight of him, but once she told him she was back and hung up, he pushed himself up to a seated position. There was a little color back in his face, still pale but not the ghastly pallor it'd been right before he'd dropped. He took the lemon fruit drink and rice ball with some bemusement. "You didn't get yourself anything?"

"Yes I did." She shook her peach drink before she cracked the tab.

"To eat."

"It's not a big deal!" She couldn't imagine wasting the time it usually took her to pick a meal out of a convenience store's selection when she was more worried about Ren. "I'll eat something later. First we should get you back to Leblanc."

"We didn't ride the ferris wheel yet."

Ann frowned. She wished she hadn't made such a big deal of riding it now. "We can come back another day. It's not that important."

"I want to, though." He cracked the tab on his drink and took a short sip. "You think I'm pushing myself for you, but I'm not that selfless. On Christmas Eve..." He took another sip. "Yeah, I didn't want to worry you. But I also just didn't want to think about what was going to happen. ...I probably should have told you. I was stuck thinking about it anyway."

She...would have appreciated it. She had no illusions she wouldn't have freaked out at first--her and Ryuji had both shouted when Makoto had told them on Christmas Day that Ren had turned himself in--but she wanted to think she would have restrained herself for his sake. She could have reassured him, face-to-face, that she and the others would make sure he got out. They could have had a proper goodbye, instead of her walking out because she was confused and upset. But... "It's okay," she told him. "I get why you didn't, and it's over now."

"It is." He nodded. "And I just want to forget about all of it, and make new memories with you. Maybe I've been pushing myself, but I was having fun. And the ferris wheel is close by, and we'll be sitting down once we're on...and I really enjoyed the last time we were on it." He gave her a sly smile. "You said it yourself: the places I like best are the ones I see with you."

Ann's face instantly warmed against the cold, and she buried her face in her hands. Ren laughed. "Jerk! Don't use my words against me!"

"Awww, Ann. You say such sweet things, but then you get embarrassed about them--"

"Because they're sappy!"

"You need to learn from Ryuji. He says the sappiest things without an ounce of self-consciousness."

"Ryuji? _Really_?" Though, when she thought about it... he was a pretty straightforward guy. And he didn't have that much self-consciousness, period. So she could see him being really sweet... once in a blue moon. Or if he was talking about his mom.

"You'll see. One day he'll get a girlfriend and we'll all get nauseated when he talks about her." Ren sounded like he was looking forward to it.

He really was enjoying himself, wasn't he? Ann peeked at his face, the easy smile he wore even if he did look tired still, and felt a bit lighter. He was having fun. He _had_ pushed himself too hard, and she'd have to make sure to be a little more attentive in the future, but he wanted to be here. He wanted to be with her. Which was really good, because that was exactly what she wanted, too.

"Okay. As long as you're feeling good, let's ride the ferris wheel after we finish our drinks."

Their Christmas Eve date had been a disaster, and their Valentine's date hadn't gone perfectly either. But it ended on a high note--100-meters-in-the-air high--and after how long they'd been apart, that was more than enough.


End file.
